More than an hour after the explosion, ambulances were still taking the wounded to hospital and officials were pulling bodies from the rubble as firefighters struggled to control blazes in several buildings.

A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-packed vehicle in Zanbaq Square around 08:30am local time, the ministry said in a statement.

The statement added that more than 50 vehicles were either destroyed or damaged by the blast.

AP:Associated Press

Security forces inspect the site of a bomb attack at the German Embassy in Kabul

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An injured man, covered in blood, is carried away by emergency workers

Reuters

A wounded man wearing a suit is helped onto a stretcher after the explosion in Kabul

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The explosion shattered windows and blew doors off their hinges in houses hundreds of metres away.

Among those injured, 67 have been taken to hospital.

Karim Haidari, the BBC's bureau manager in the city, wrote on Twitter: "Some #bbc staff caught in explosion".

The BBC's senior producer in the war-torn city, Khalil Noori, said some of his colleagues have been wounded.

The German Embassy is near numerous other embassy buildings including the US, Canadian, Indian, Indonesian and Pakistani embassies.

The French Embassy also suffered some minor damage from the explosion and the Australian Embassy is also on lockdown.

Reuters

A man lies on the ground near the site of the depraved bomb attack

EPA

Another wounded man pictured standing in the street after the suicide attack in the Afghan capital

A statement from the Ministry of Interior Affairs says it "condemns in the strongest terms the terrorist attack" that killed so many, including women and children.

The ministry did not have details on the possible target of the attack.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing but both the Taliban and ISIS have staged large-scale attacks in the Afghan capital in the past.

The explosion took place at the peak of Kabul's rush hour when roads are packed with worktime commuters.

It appeared to have gone off close to a busy intersection in the Wazir Akbar Khan district a highly secure area of the capital that is home to many embassies, diplomatic missions, the Presidential Palace and the Foreign Ministry.